Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cool Science Websites

You often hear that we're living in a golden age of scientific discovery. That's true, but it's also true that we're living in a golden age of science communication and education. These days, innovative websites and visualization techniques have made it easier than ever to understand the basics of science. The web is loaded with great free sites for learning about science and nature.

If you're interested in science in general, or in keeping track of the latest discoveries, the online versions of magazines are a great place to look. Discover Magazine has excellent articles written for laypeople, while Scientific American gets a little more into the technical details. Science Daily is a great place to catch up on breaking news in science. National Geographic covers more than just science, but its website has an excellent section devoted to science and nature. Public television networks are also great for science information. PBS has a science and nature section of their website, while the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has separate sections for science and nature.

If you like watching videos about science and nature, the first place we recommend is one of the library's databases: Access Video on Demand, or AVOD. AVOD has thousands of streaming videos about all kinds of topics, including hundreds about science and nature. There are videos from BBC, PBS, Nova, National Geographic, Scientific American Frontiers, and more. If you like to hear great thinkers and scientists talk about their discoveries, TED offers hundreds of fascinating 20 minute lectures by some of the world's great minds, available for free online (and on AVOD). The people at TED have also launched a site for young people, called TED-Ed. TED-Ed's video are shorter than TED videos, and many of are beautifully animated. Here's one that explains just how small atoms are (they're really, really, really small).

The Open Culture website has links to all sorts of free educational material online. Their webpage on great science videos has enough links to free videos to keep a science buff entertained for weeks. Another great way to find science videos is to look at science channels on YouTube. National Geographic, Scientific American, and NASA all have channels with fascinating videos. If you or your kids like science experiments, Sick Science is a great channel to check out. Finally, Hulu has a page devoted to shows about science and technology. You may also be interested in their documentaries page.

Now let's look at a few of the best websites that focus on the different branches of science:

Astronomy and Cosmology

An Atlas of the Universe: This amazing site lets you see where the Earth fits into the universe; allowing you to jump to larger and larger views: from nearby stars, to galaxies, to the entire visible universe.

Eyes on the Solar System: This interactive website lets watch a "you are there" simulation of the Mars Curiosity landing, and virtually fly around all the planets in the solar system!

HubbleSite - Picture Album: Another stunning website, which lets you look through all the images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Scale of the Universe 2: This interactive animation lets you zoom inward and outward to visualize just how small atoms are, and just how stupendously gigantic the universe is.